Incoming Congressman Beto O'Rourke set to open local office Downtown

Incoming Congressman Beto O'Rourke has hired most of his staff and will open his district office in the historic Mills Building after he's sworn in Thursday in Washington, D.C.

O'Rourke defeated 16-year Rep. Silvestre Reyes in the Democratic primary and Republican Barbara Carrasco in the general election.

He invited constituents who are in Washington to watch his noon swearing-in at his office in room 1721 Longworth House Office Building and to a party afterward with Texas' freshman Democrats and their constituents at 413 New Jersey Ave. SE.

O'Rourke on Friday said his congressional staff was in place except for the critical post of legislative director and a communications team.

REPORTER

Marty Schladen

"We have a few finalists we're trying to decide between" for legislative director, he said. "We really want to get this one right."

Also Thursday, O'Rourke will open his district office at 303 N. Oregon St., Suite 210. Cynthia Cano, O'Rourke's district director, encouraged constituents to stop by or call 541-1400.

O'Rourke said he chose staff members based on their energy and their commitment to his El Paso district. He said he expected the local staff to spend as much time out in District 16 as they do in their Mills Building office.

"I'm coming in as a freshman in the minority party," he said. "I need people who are willing to walk through walls for El Paso."

A rundown:

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Chief of staff: David Wysong of El Paso. He was O'Rourke's campaign manager. A graduate of UTEP and Texas Tech University with a master's of business administration, Wysong previously worked for Restat, the country's largest privately held benefits manager.

District director: Cynthia Cano of El Paso. A mother of three with bachelor's and master's degrees from UTEP, Cano worked as a special education teacher for the Ysleta school district. She also worked as a special education coordinator, as an assistant principal, and most recently as principal at La Fe Preparatory School.

El Paso office

Mario Porras: A UTEP graduate, Porras has spent extensive time in Juárez.

Esteban Terrazas of El Paso. A long-serving UTEP employee, he holds a master's from UTEP.

Mariah Savage of Dallas. She holds a bachelor's degree from Moody Bible Institute, and has since worked with international nonprofits and communities in the Southwest.

Washington, D.C., office

John Meza of El Paso. A UTEP graduate, Meza will serve as scheduler.

Matt Sutton of El Paso. He holds an associate degree from El Paso Community College and is pursuing a bachelor's degree from George Washington University.